torstai 30. huhtikuuta 2015

Congestion - Studio Rehearsal Tape 9.10.92


Congestion - Studio Rehearsal Tape 09.10.1992
1) Intro
2) Burnt Into My Mind
3) Bed of the Ancient River

RGhost / Mediafire

Let's end this month in a slightly lighter note: another offering from brother Grev's nigh-inexhaustible stash of Congestion / Let Me Dream relics. This is again a '92 recording with early versions of two tracks and intro from the well-known "Bed of the Ancient River" '93 demo. The rip is courtesy of Grev's co-plotter, as usual. Thanks for your contributions to the cause yet again! This one had no cover either so I resorted to a similar placeholder as used on the earlier Congestion posts.

This is a short tape, less than eight minutes and both songs are shorter and obviously less polished than the versions in the demo. Sound is pretty good, though there's still the certain recorded-in-a-bathroom echo present and the speedier parts clog up a little, vocals can be a bit unclear... ok so it's not a stellar, album grade studio sound but still reasonably good for what is basically rehearsal recording. If you're into Congestion material you'll want to hear these rough versions of the songs. If you're not into their other recordings... well you're unlikely to enjoy this either, I guess.

keskiviikko 29. huhtikuuta 2015

Dysangelium - Demo I 1995


Dysangelium - Demo I 1995
1) Palace of Death
2) Unohdettu
3) Yksinäinen susi

Yandex

Haven't I seen this before? Yes, you have right here and I know I've done more than enough reposts in the last few months but once again I have a very good reason to do this. Like I wrote back in the '13 post, the rip/dub were of awful quality so when brother unholydeath obtained a copy of the demo and offered me a strictly better rip how could I not post it here? Thanks for the rip and scans! Which, by the way, are not included. I agreed with his worry about some vermin jumping to bootleg this right away so I'm afraid you are not getting them and the image posted above has been stamped with the blog logo. Thank the swindlers selling dumbasses overpriced dubs online, kids!

I had actually gotten already another rip before this one but that had some issues too so I hesitated to post it. Good thing I'm so good at prost... procrac.. I'll look that up later, delaying doing stuff, this rip is pretty much as good as it gets! The music obviously is the same as before but naturally less flawed so I suppose there's little point dwelling on that. Just grab it if you too were frustrated with the tape fails of the earlier edition. If you skipped this then for whatever reasons perhaps you should give it a go now?

maanantai 27. huhtikuuta 2015

Daemonium Aeturnus #2


Daemonium Aeturnus 'zine, issue 2 (1992)
Interviews:
Mortuary Drape
Immortal
Barathrum
Nocturan Demanto
Goatpenis
Thorns
Impaled Nazarene
Lullaby
+ some pictures and three (3) reviews

Reuploaded

It's been already a few months since I last posted something to read so let's do a quick fix to that with this generous donation to the Coven by comrade Kurgan, thanks! This is the second issue of the Dutch cult 'zine Daemonium Aeturnus, made by The Unsane of Bestial Summoning fame. Please note that these are scans of photocopies so the quality of images et al. might be somewhat worse than expected. Not that the issue was professionally printed in the first place. I suppose it had a red cover like the images of other issues I've seen.

This is an unprofessional, xeroxed early 90's 'zine with a simple layout, unclear photos and short, often chaotic interviews, at this point still a black metal fanzine instead of the more occult/Satanic/heretic leanings of the later issues and it is absolutely great! Honest old school 'zines are always a pleasure to read. Just don't expect very deep and informative interviews. I'd really love to see the other issues of D.A. so get in touch if you have any to offer, copies are fine too. That's enough, this is obviously recommended.

UPDATE: Fixed the typo, I can't seem to wrap my head around the name being Daemonium Aeturnus and not ...Aeternus!

lauantai 25. huhtikuuta 2015

Inflammation - From Holocaust promo '95


Inflammation - From Holocaust promo 1995
1) Winter Is Forever
2) In Flames
3) Funeral Horse

4shared / Mediafire

Today's item is both a request and a contribution, even more unusually from the same person, brother Baldemar. You see, he sent this rip of Czech black metal band Inflammation's December '95 promo tape in the hopes I could do something about the low sound on it. Unfortunately, I am most certainly not a sound engineer or in any other way very fluent with things like that so there was little I could accomplish. The recording favours the left speaker quite heavily and the three songs seem to vary a bit in their general volume and noisiness so I couldn't really reasonably amplify the volumes too much. However, I also tried adjusting the balance a bit to right and then further increase the sound level but this did not bring a very good result. You may check out that version here. The downloads with the original sound version include cover scans.

Now that the scene has been established and my struggle with the rather poor sound chronicled we can move to more important matters: the cover! Isn't that a cool cover picture or what? Looks pretty LLN-meets-Euronymous to me. I like this just because of that. Not to mention the rather amusing lyrics to the first song which would re-appear on their '96 demo (which is pretty good but has a bit less personality than this and much, much less awesome cover) titled I See Salvation in the Scandinavian Landscapes (the other two tracks were re-recorded and included there too), quite blatantly obsessed with Nordic bm, I'd say. And no, the second song is not about the band In Flames ...I think, hard to be 100% sure since those lyrics are in Czech which is not my strongest language. To return to the music briefly again, it's interesting. Not the most fluent and catchy sort of black metal, more like sligthly awkward, but fascinating. The sound is not really that poor but it is sort of messy and, uh, cluttered. Kinda like my apartment. I think I have to go wash the dishes now, but if you happen to have a better dub or original copy of this please send us the rip. Or let us know if it's just.. like this, I suppose. A recommended item to everyone interested in Czech black metal, excellent band photos (it's like Mütiilation but without the sad paint!) and confusing blog entries.

tiistai 21. huhtikuuta 2015

Dream Upon Tombs - Dream Upon Tombs demo 1997


Dream Upon Tombs - Dream Upon Tombs demo 1997
1) Black Tears Run From Crystal Eyes
2) Tamora, Moonlight Bride
3) On Tombs Borne Timeless Dreams

Mega / RGhost

Another contribution today, this Australian demo that seems quite unknown was sent to me by comrade Profoundemonium already a while ago, thank you for the contribution! Dream Upon Tombs was a two-man project by Jarrod Taylor and someone called David. P included cover scans that come with lyrics and some information.

Three songs of which two are a bit longer and the last, shortest one an instrumental. Musically I suppose this might be called romantic black metal, based on the lyrics and to a degree the rather atmospheric and melodic music. Or it might be better to just go with dark metal. The ye Olde English lyrics of the first song and the more romantic second one's would suggest fantasy themes so I guess some description monstrosity like "dark, romantic fantasy metal" could be fitting? Unfortunately the source tape seems to be a bit worn and crappy as the sound is somewhat unsteady, teetering from side to side in the beginning of the first track. Fortunately it gets better quite soon and isn't the worst example we have faced. Still bothersome. Otherwise a decent demo sound. If the description and flawy rip didn't scare you away, you might find this a quite interesting listen if you're into melodic stuff. The last instrumental song is a keyboard piece and makes me wonder if either of these guys ever had a neo-classical or dungeon synth project?

sunnuntai 19. huhtikuuta 2015

Kharadrai - III - Hexapteron demo '99


Kharadrai - III - Hexapteron demo III 1999
1) Aethera Omega
2) Beneath the Core
3) Akhomalon I (Regression)
4) Akhomalon II
5) Akhomalon III

Rusfolder / Mega

Let's chill out for one last time with Kharadrai, this is the third and final demo from '99, contributed by master Sorvali, just like the previous ones. This one was initially missing the covers so he sent me smallish images as placeholder (the one above is one of these) and then later larger images of the special edition. All included in the download. Thanks again for delivering the complete Kharadrai saga!

Musically this demo continues where we left off with the compilation track Akhomalon I and in general where the music started to progress to on the second demo: a mixture of dark ambient, industrial and neo-classical elements. Actually, Kharadrai would've fit pretty well in the Cold Meat Industry roster of the era. I said this continues where A.I left off but that's misleading as that song was much more active in nature than the first two tracks here, especially the longer Beneath the Core. Akhomalon I (Regression) is a very different thing from the compilation track, much more in line with the more... let's say contemplative mood of this demo. Things do pick up towards the end and more so on the second part, while the third one is longest and combines elements from all parts. All the tracks are instrumental this time around and that's just fine and dandy by me. An enjoyable ending chapter for this thing and obviously recommended if you enjoyed the previous tapes.

lauantai 18. huhtikuuta 2015

Sargoth - Mörkrets anlete demo 1995


Sargoth - Mörkrets anlete demo 1995
1) Qaa a Babalon (Intro)
2) Ur vinterns kyla
3) Barn av natt
4) Christian Blood
5) Mörkrets anlete
6) Bial a Ors (Outro)

4shared / Yandex

We haven't had Swedish material for what, two months? Can't have that and to remedy the situation here is the only demo by Sargoth from Sundsvall, dating back to '95. Sargoth was one of those bands that actually managed to do an album (Lay Eden in Ashes, '98,) but still kind of got nowhere and is hardly ever mentioned these days. Not that they would've been so well known back then either, the name popped up in many tape trader lists but I can't remember seeing them much in 'zines, compilations (maybe 1-2 appearances?) or, well, that's pretty much it. Don't know if they played live in their hometown, possibly. Some of the members also were in the even more obscure and very interesting looking band called Impious, not to be mixed with the better known one from Trollhättan. I'd certainly like to hear the two demos released by that band too.

But back to this item, which was sent by brother Grev, ripped by an associate of his and slightly edited by yours truly. Thanks to all involved, except me. Sadly, no full covers, just the front image which I think I picked up from the archives. A nice, if unremarkable, synth intro starts the demo and abruptly changes into the first "proper" track, a very melodic piece of black metal with the quite typical mid-90's Swedish sound. I might even go as far as say it sounds typical for material of the era hailing from Sundsvall. Vocals are echoing, somewhat raspy black metal shrieks, playing competent enough, tempos vary from slow parts to fast bits. The demo sound has a flaws but this might be a product of dubbing/rip to a degree. The title track has a mega annoying flaw on it that does not go on for very long but bothers the hell out of me. Otherwise fine and everything is audible enough, even the bass. It's nothing astonishing, nor super-original but works very well if taken as what it is, twenty years old demo of melodic, Swedish black metal. I sort of like it, sometimes more and other times less, but can't say it'd stay in my head for days. Worth a listen if you have an interest in melodic black metal, Swedish 90's demos or perhaps the Sundsvall scene.

I'd like a better rip or a dub of this and the '95/'96 demos of Impious so if you can help with either, get in touch!

keskiviikko 15. huhtikuuta 2015

Prophet - Thy Sky Takes You Away demo 1997


Prophet - Thy Sky Takes You Away demo I 1997
1) 8th
2) ¿
3) Land of Time

Depositfiles / RGhost

Some slightly different material sent by master Henri again, thanks for your donation to the cause! Prophet was a gothic metal band from Helsinki who released a slew of demos under this monicker before getting a record deal and changing the name to Fragile Hollow. Or possibly the other way around, I don't really know much more about them than a quick look at Metal Archives reveals. However it may be, Fragile Hollow has released three albums so far, last in 2010, and is still supposedly active. Today's item is the first demo as Prophet and as with other master Sorvali's contributions, cover scans are included.

The demo has a pretty good studio sound, packs more punch than you might expect. Unfortunately it does get a little bit muffled when all elements are in play but not in that everything-muddled-I-sank-in-quicksand way or wrapped-in-fluffy-kitsune-tails sort of soft. More like you'd be walking in the dark and suddenly ground shifted to being moss covered. It's not really a bad thing, mind you. The voices are mostly sort of clean-ish singing with some growls thrown in. Despite not being the most accomplished of singers he doesn't actually sound bad at all, big part of winning my affection probably comes from not having the worst case of usual, dreadful strong Finnish accent. Not that there wouldn't be any cringe worthy moments, there's a part in ¿ that makes me grit my teeth. The music is ok, though there are some "modern metal" sort of chuggy bits that I'm not a fan of and I noticed myself starting to get a little impatient around the third song. Surprisingly decent to be in the end of the day rockin' modern-ish goth metal, makes me actually curious to hear the other demos. I might even try the albums they released as Fragile Hollow though I'm pretty sure they're not for me. But if this sort of music rocks your boat, makes your head spin, blood freeze in veins or whatever give them a listen.

maanantai 13. huhtikuuta 2015

Evil - Rehearsal 13/07/96


Evil - Rehearsal 13th July 1996
1) From the Black Horde of Pure Evil
2) A Southern War from the Winter's March
3) Darkest Wolves

RGhost / Mediafire

I wanted to post some black metal and this item is another sending by brother Baldemar, thank you for the rip! Right, another early-ish rehearsal tape from Brazil's Evil, still in their pure black metal phase. See here for the previous one and additional background info. Again, no cover, I just made a placeholder to match with the previous one.

They start again with "From the Black Horde..." which certainly features very prominently in their (early) discography. The tracks here are actually in the same order as they appear on the '96 demo "A Southern War from the Winter's March", missing only the intro and outro. I don't have that demo at hand right now and refuse to go to YouTube so can't compare the sound of the recordings. However, I can compare this to the older rehearsal tape I posted and feel safe to say the sound is better, or easier perhaps, this time around. The instruments are more audible and balanced, the vocals (echo-y black metal howls) sitting among them as another component rather than overpowering everything. I don't really have so much to add here, grab this if you enjoy raw black metal, collect Evil's recordings and so on, it's not bad at all!

sunnuntai 12. huhtikuuta 2015

Susurrus Inanis - The Shadowless Shining demo 1997


Susurrus Inanis - The Shadowless Shining demo 1997
1) Now I Know...
2) Such as This Water
3) In My Memory
4) Keep the Sun
5) And I Shall Never
6) Left Shallow
7) Nam Lux Sum

Rusfolder / 4shared

Bandcamp

Chillout zone presents a request today. Eugene asked me in January if I would rip and scan my copy of Susurrus Inanis' only demo as it seems to be somewhat hard to find presently (it actually isn't). I hesitated for a bit and then thought why not so here we are. After a usual delay, that is. Jason Walton (of Agalloch fame) and Daniel Breyer (former Agalloch member, nowadays a professor) were the men behind this project, both playing keyboards and sharing the vocal duties. I had some sort of an insert to go with this, or maybe even two, with lyrics I think and some kind of a bio/assorted background info but unfortunately I didn't come across it. If it happens to be found I'll scan it/them too.

Very good sound combined with the coloured covers and printed tapes give this a very professional appearance and could make one think this'd be a cassette EP or mini-album but it was quite explicitly stated to be a demo. Opening piece is a pretty instrumental intro piece and the following song is rather gloomy and gothic, complete with deep vocals by... one of the guys, I don't know how they shared the vocal duties, the extra material I had might've shed light unto the matter. Anyways, the vocal presentation varies throughout the release but I'd consider these to be one of the main vocals. Somewhat reminiscent of late mr. Steele at times. Next song features the other prevalent voice, a more subdued and emotionless spoken voice that on a later track also sings some lines. Other variations include vaguely black metallish whispery hiss, a more jaded sounding version of the second main voice and so forth. General feel is more darkwaveish rather than ambient really and not much dungeon synth to be found in my opinion. After actually having a proper look I also noticed that JW has this on a bandcamp page so you might want to consider supporting him by getting this from there. But I encourage you to give this a shot if you enjoy atmospheric gothy sort of keyboard music/darkwave, are an Agalloch fan and so on.

perjantai 10. huhtikuuta 2015

Nocturnal Winds - Demo II 1998


Nocturnal Winds - Demo II 1998
1) Son of the Winterstorm
2) Instrumental
3) Warrior of Light
4) My Angel

Mega / Zippyshare

Ask and ye shall receive, here is the second Nocturnal Winds demo posted unusually fast. Like the previous one, brother Grev dubbed, I ripped and uploaded. Thanks as always! For this one we did not have a cover though so image borrowed from Metal Archives. It's... colourful.

Four songs again, for slightly longer playtime and the second one, titled "Instrumental" (guess what kind of a song it is) is easily the longest of the bunch at almost ten minutes. Perhaps that could be taken as an indicator of the lads' confidence in their skills. I suppose the playing is somewhat tighter and music perhaps a little more ambitious and uh, complex? Not Yngwie Malmsteen stuff but there's a certain amount of increase in the instrument intercourse here. Some thrashing riffs, power metallic bits and all sorts of knick-knacks have been added. Also the lyrical topics seem to have shifted away from what was almost like weather report black metal stuff to uh, whatever they are about, at least the titles indicate a change for worse; ok the first one seems to more or less carry on from where they left off, but "Warrior of Light" causes slight shiver run down my spine in its powermetallishness (stop making up words!) and gives me an involuntary Tolkki flashback while "My Angel" brings at first mind old Arcturus (yay) and then, overriding the positive association, terrible, syrupy power ballad or perhaps gothic metal abomination of some (possibly German) kind. And that's just the song titles, what horrors the actual songs contain!? Well, they're not nearly as bad as the mental images my tormented subconsciousness seems fond off conjuring. WoL is a pretty lively tune and more straightforward than expected while MA is more power metally and radio-friendly, somewhat forgettable melotune rather than a performance of poor man's avantgarde or the diabeteous, gothic simulacrum I secretly hoped it to be. Surprisingly enough the very end of the track gets suddenly much better, but that's just not enough for such a long track.

I'm sure many people will welcome the musical development, progress and slight changes here while some will end up enjoying the first demo better. Note that all but the instrumental appear again on their debut album, as well as "Frost Divine" from the demo I which would've been only my third pick from there. Recommended (obviously) for the fans of the band, of Finnish melodic death metal and long instrumental songs.
 

keskiviikko 8. huhtikuuta 2015

Nocturnal Winds - Demo I 1997


Nocturnal Winds - Demo I 1997
1) Frost Divine
2) Infinity Prevails
3) A Path to Forest Unknown
4) Ride with the Winterwinds

Yandex / Depositfiles

Melodic death metal is something that ends up used as a curse word rather than a description quite often in certain circles, perhaps unfairly, sometimes deservedly. But the Coven is fair, just and above prejudice so let's give another representative of the countless horde of later 90's melodeath bands a chance today. This is Nocturnal Winds from Finland and their first demo, ripped by me from a tape dubbed by brother Grev whom we also have to thank for the cover scans.

Looking at the band name and song titles one might expect black metal, perhaps in the weather report genre and maybe even with thick layers of delicious, cheap synth dressing on top. Nope, we get three long and one shorter songs of slightly rough sounding melodic death metal in the time-honoured 90's Finnish vein. You know what I'm talking about, don't pretend not to. If you actually don't, think '94/'95 Amorphis, same period Sentenced and, ugh, I can't think of anything reasonable and well-enough known right now, but anyways with slightly cruder performance, rougher sound and less frills all around. I'm kind of reminded of the Frozen Tear demo by the sound and performance, and congrats if that says anything to you. Funny enough, this also sounds pretty enjoyable, mostly due the things mentioned which probably will be a negative point to seasoned, jaded meloheads. Despite what I said earlier there are some wee little touches of black metal here and there and I think I heard Satan mentioned too in the third track. Yay! Sometimes this kind of stuff is fine too and it works here well enough, except for the cover picture that really does not lead one to think "frost", "winterwinds" or "nocturnal winds" either, more like Midsummer and booze at a lakeside cabin. The last track is pretty awful with the c'mon! c'mon! - shouts and they were doing so well in the third song too! Still, it's good enough with three pretty good tracks out of four, slightly recommended.

tiistai 7. huhtikuuta 2015

Kharadrai - Compilation track 1999


Kharadrai - Track from Anomalous Silencer 4. compilation (1999)
1) Akhomalon I

Mediafire

Today's quickie might seem like a filler, being a single track released on a compilation back in '99 and yeah, it kind of is, but there's a very good reason for this post. Or at least a pretty good reason? Well, however the jury decides, it's because I'd for once like to post something more or less complete, in chronological order and these contributions of Kharadrai material by master Sorvali allow me the opportunity. Isn't it nice to hear something in appropriate order for change? Also, this track/recording is exclusive to this compilation so it has a place here in that accord too. Please notice the whole compilation is not featured here, only the Kharadrai track! Thank you.

Ok, actually a version of this track also appears on the last demo but I think it's a re-recording or remix or whatever, a different version at the end of the day. It's a four-minute song, rather bombastic ambient/industrial blend of music this time around. Have a listen if you liked the previous Kharadrai recordings and/or enjoy this sort of industrial-tinged stuff. I kind of wish I had the whole compilation, though, this feels a bit lost all by itself.

maanantai 6. huhtikuuta 2015

Daoine Sidhe - Daoine Sidhe demo 1995


Daoine Sidhe - Daoine Sidhe demo 1995
1) Tir Na Nog
2) La Vassalerie d'Unseelie
3) Gwaenardel
4) Bryn Yr Ellyllon
5) Gwyn-Ap-Nudd
6) Douar Nevez

Mediafire / Zippyshare

Time for some non-metal material again and this is another contribution, thanks for the rip and scan! Unfortunately both the sender and I know next to nothing about this band/project, except that it's French and apparently a solo project by a person called also Daoine Sidhe and it was recorded in the Nazgul studio which might mean it's by the same person who ran the label Nazgul Productions. Looking at the cover and based on what (little) I know about the other releases I'd date this to either '95 or '96. The cover's style is closer to that of Isildur's Bane (there's a typo on the cover, it's supposed to be Isildur's not Isildur'!)  demo released in 1995 than Drunemeton one dated '96 (I could really use a better rip of that one, by the way). Please get in touch if you have any further information and/or more releases by the label.
UPDATE: I only noticed today (23rd January '17 that is) that this was reviewed on the 4th Petrified issue which verifies it to '95. Alright, one more thing less to worry about!

To the music, this is kind off in the same spirit as the Emglev stuff I posted some time ago (here and here) meaning dungeon synth with Celtic/Gaelic (not sure which applies here, not my expertise) leanings and at times influence though this is not folk music, don't be expecting cheery ditties and such numbers to frolic to. This is mostly rather somber and gloomy even, second track being a good example. The shorter tracks in the middle, "Gwaenardel" and "Bryn Yr Ellyllon" are probably the folkiest and first one most upbeat, or closest to being that. I must admit I didn't really pay enough attention to this at my initial listens as this suddenly sounds much more interesting now. Or perhaps it needed a little time to grow on me? Only vocals are some heavily effected gravelly ones (and some whispers) in the rather witchy "Gwyn-Ap-Nudd" and they're not ruining it so they work ok. Though there's still a bit more of them than necessary. Note also that there's some sort of beat or percussion in almost all of the tracks which may or may not be a selling point. Personally I'm fine with it here. My favourites here would probably be the second and fourth track if I pick two. Recommended for dungeon synth enthusiasts, those looking to expand their RPG soundtracks or into the Celtic/Gaelic thing.

lauantai 4. huhtikuuta 2015

Negură Bunget - Promo 1998


Negură Bunget - Promo 1998
1) Intro
2) Dîn afundul adîncului întrupat
3) Sala Molksa - Chanelling Through Art Immortal
4) Șuier de șolomonar
5) Outro

Depositfiles / Rusfolder

This weekend is the time for the xtian holiday of Easter which I associate with Kinder chocolate eggs and Eastern Ortohodox church. Which makes me think of Russia, Romania and such places and that finally brings us to today's post, another item from Henu's pile of tapes (thanks for the rip and scan!) and the second release by Negură Bunget who I believe are quite well-known band these days. At least in certain circles, not US Billboard stuff obviously!

This promo tape was released by the (in-)famous Sombre Records back in '98 and I'm pretty sure he screwed up the tracklisting back then, you see the first track titled "intro" there is well over 8 minute song, titled "Vînt dă rău pîn Valea Iadului" on the Sala Molksa EP released later that year on cassette by Bestial Records and on CD about a year later. Actually, all the tracks here appear on the said EP but in slightly different order. So this is pretty redundant if you already have it! I've got the cassette version myself but since I'm too lazy to dig it up and compare I can't say if there's really any difference in the mix or something, I'm 99.98% sure it's the exactly same recording however. I think this sounds a little different than what I remember from listening to my tape but then again it's been quite a while from that. I also seem to remember there was supposed to be some difference (other than artwork) between the '99 CD version and the tape but can't verify that, my extensive research (had a quick look at Metal Archives) revealed naught.

I should probably talk about this release instead of ranting about the EP, some people might not actually have heard it. Ok, this is atmospheric black metal with a peculiar feel to it. On paper not really original yet sounds still somewhat distinct. Less rough and raw than the Zîrnindu-să album or Wiccan Rede demo but not as intricate as the later albums would get. Brings to mind some Polish 90's stuff mixed with some of the more synth-happy Norwegians plus some original touches. Yeah, it's a good tape but like said you don't really need it if you have Sala Molksa unless you're kind of obsessive and then you probably try to dig up a copy of the cassette anyways.

torstai 2. huhtikuuta 2015

Hiborym - Abakua: Pacta Conventa Daemonorum demo 1995

Hiborym - Abakua: Pacta Conventa Daemonorum demo 1995
1) Lady Masthema
2) Coronum Patrem Noctis
3) Sigilium Diaboli

Mega

Brother Baldemar's contributions continue with another Mexican black metal relic continuing where these posts left off. Thank you for the rip! Based on some old interviews I always thought of Hiborym as the main band of Masthema Sancia & co and despite remaining somewhat obscure and underground it has also stayed active the longest, releasing a demo as "recently" as 2010. I would really like to get my hands on the recordings released between 1995 and 2010 so if you have them, get in touch. I'd also really like a cover for this so you know what to do. And (possible) older recordings interest me as well.

What is here then? Three tracks might not look like much but this still runs over 20 minutes as these are all relavitely long tracks, which might be a slight surprise. If you were expecting fast and blistering black/death/war metal assault, think again. This is mostly slow to midpaced raw, melancholic and atmospheric black metal. Rather doomy even. It's quite obviously a rehearsal recording but the sound quality is good enough and actually very pleasant to my ears, suits this much better than a fancy polished 48 track studio recording! Now that I think of it, this has a lot in common with the Iadanamada rehearsal I earlier posted. I like this and am very fascinated with this circle of bands in general so be sure to let me know if you have more from Hiborym or any of the related projects!